"Let me show you a deal in which I displayed fine bidding judgment," Unlucky Louie told me in the club lounge. I groaned inwardly, but Louie produced today's layout and plunged into his narrative. "I was East," Louie said, "and after two passes, I opened four hearts. South overcalled four spades, and after two passes, I doubled to show my...

Four defensive tricks will defeat a major-suit game, but defenders have so much to think about that they often forget first principles. Today's North might have doubled West's three diamonds; North-South would be plus 500. But North preferred to support South's spades, and they landed at game. West led the king of diamonds: eight, deuce, three. He cashed the ace...